Fill the (fireplace) void

In our flat we've got this brick wall built around a non-working fireplace in the living room. It's one of those really awkward spaces to fill.  Because there's no fire in it, it's just an empty space that looks sad and lonely and like it's missing something (it is - a fire!)

I've always felt like empty fireplaces need something substantial in them, nothing bitty and small that gets lost in the gaping hole. Of course, a real fire in it would be my number one preference, but if not there's always books and logs and logs and books...

David Carter

Apartment Therapy

Australia Vogue Living Oct '05

Ryan Corban

Unknown source

Domino Dec/Jan '08

Logs with a coat of insane paint

Home of Jenna Lyons, J Crew Creative Director

Fireplace for stylish toy storage

Sixx Design via Casa Sugar

I love what these guys have done with this, their country house (in upstate New York I think?)

The books and logs en masse thing is not a new idea by any means, but I still think it's one of the best. The trick is to really cram them in there - not 10 or 20, but 100 or whatever fills the void completely or mostly. Same goes for anything else, candles etc.

 Do as they do at Anthropologie - notice how their displays are always OTT when it comes to quantities? If 10 glasses displayed on a table look nice, 110 look better - seems to be their motto. Same approach works here.

Prints Charming!

I've been so immersed in ancient looking historic fabrics lately for my current project, that I'm starting to quite like them. Watts of Westminster, Morris & Co, Claremont all do incredible historic fabrics. Of course I wouldn't use any of them in an old house. It would only work for me if everything else was modern and eclectic. Otherwise it can be stuffy and traditional, which I don't do. 

I do love the contrast between a modern or industrial room and a floral covered chair. There are definitely ways of using antique inspired prints for a more modern eclectic vibe. 

These images from Sanderson are very cool, aren't they? 

And these from William Morris are amazing. Put these chairs in a concrete box loft with sheepskin rugs, lots of white and walls lined with piles of books and they'd be far from stuffy.

Rugs Reinvented

For my current interior design project I've been doing some research on rugs and runners. I came across this first image and even though it's not right for this project, I'm desperate to do it in my own house. A collection of carpet scraps sewn into a stair runner. Pretty fabulous.

There's been a huge trend in the past few seasons for rugs that are reworked, patch-worked, over-dyed,  and generally pretty bohemian and funky. Mixed with a more modern space that's not too busy, I think it can be a great look. I personally tend to shy away from trends - I never let myself buy a pair of Uggs, comfy though they are, simply because everyone had them! BUT, if I sourced the carpet scraps myself and chose how they were pieced together, I'd feel like it was actually mine. Would I sew it myself? Umm...maybe. Is that taking it too far?

However, for those not as obsessed (it's an illness, I admit) with making everything themselves, there are loads of companies making nice ones. The following images are from the website of Golran and feature their Carpet Reloaded collections. I checked them out at Decorex in London last Autumn - they were one of only a few booths there I actually liked. The rest was a bit blah.

What do you think? Too trendy?